Back in April we announced a major expansion of the Google Art Project. Since then 15 million people have explored the paintings, sculptures, street art and photographs contributed by our partners. From today the number of treasures you can view is increasing by more than 10% as 29 new art organisations from 14 countries bring their collections online. A wide range of global institutions, large and small, well-known and less traditional, are represented. Explore contemporary works at theIstanbul Modern Art Museum, admire works from theArt Gallery of South Australia (who have contributed almost 600 objects) and access the treasures of the famous Museum of Palazzo Vecchio in Italy. This round has also seen contributions from more unusual sources including a collection from the National Ballet of Canada,pre-Columbian art from Peru, anddecorative arts from China.Now that the total number of objects online is more than 35,000, we've turned our attention towards thinking of different ways for you to experience the collections.The first is a great educational tool for art students, enthusiasts or those who are simply curious. A “Compare” button has been added to the toolbar on the left of each painting. This allows you to examine two pieces of artwork side-by-side to look at how an artist’s style evolved over time, connect trends across cultures or delve deeply into two parts of the same work. Here's an example: place an early sketch ofWinslow Homer's 'The Life Line' from theCooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum next tothe completed painting from thePhiladelphia Museum of Art. Comparing them in this way allows you to see how the artist's vision altered (or not) over the life of the work.Beyond following us and discussing great art on our Google+ page, we have also created a Hangout app within the Art Project so that you can share your favorite collections and perhaps give your friends a personal guided tour. If there is a budding museum guide or an art critic within any of you it can finally be unleashed! Watch this video to see how it works.

http://youtu.be/vJmk7JiYZjcAround 180 partners have contributed their works to the Art Project so far, more than 300,000 of you have created your own online galleries and we've had more than 15 million visitors since our last launch in April. The cultural community has invested great time and effort to bring these masterpieces online. Watch this space for more to come.

Introducing Magazines on Google Play for Canada

Starting today, you can now purchase your favourite Canadian magazines directly from the Google Play store. It’s never been easier to stay on top of Canadian news and issues with Maclean’s, catch up on the latest trends with FASHION and Canadian Living, consider re-decorating with Style at Home, or get better acquainted with this vast country by checking out Canadian Geographic -- choose from dozens of Canadian and U.S. magazines on the Google Play Magazines App for Android. You can also read magazines online when browsing in Chrome. Just go to play.google.com and click “My Magazines.”

With Google Play all your latest issues will be instantly delivered to your tablet or phone and organized in your collection in the cloud. You can also flip through your magazine library to quickly decide what to read next or simply search for a specific title. Browse through the Play store to find your favourites, discover new titles, buy single issues and even subscribe to save on magazines like WIRED,CosmopolitanandMen’s Health.

Magazines are available today onplay.google.com, and will roll out to Google Play on devices over the coming days.

Movies for Purchase on Google Play

Pass the popcorn! On the go with any Android device, or curled up on the couch for movie night, you can now purchase movies on Google Play.

In addition to all the great videos on demand available in the Google Play store, film buffs can now purchase movies to add to their permanent film library stored securely in the cloud.

If you’ve moved to Windows 8 and are getting acquainted with it, you may be looking for a couple of your favorite Google products that you use every day. To help you get the best experience possible on Google and across the web, we’ve designed and built a new Google Search app and Chrome browser for Windows 8 and created a simple site to help you get your Google back.

The Google Search app comes with a clean and recognizable user interface. Our new voice search lets you naturally speak questions. The image search and image previews are built for swiping. And, as usual, you get immediate results as you type with Google Instant. The doodles you enjoy on special occasions will be right there on the homepage and even show up on the Google tile on your start screen.

The Chrome browser is the same Chrome you know and love, with some customizations to optimize for touchscreens, including larger buttons and the ability to keep Chrome open next to your other favorite apps. It delivers the fast, secure web experience you’ve come to expect from Chrome on all your devices.

To get both Google Search and Chrome installed on your Windows 8 machine, head to our site and learn how to get your familiar Google apps back.Posted by Tamar Yehoshua, Product Management Director, Search

From Joe Fresh to Pink Tartan, this week Toronto is playing host to some of the biggest, hottest names in fashion.

It's a time of year fashion fans mark on their calendars – when Toronto steps into the global spotlight during World MasterCard™ Fashion Week, a stylish international showcase live-streaming on YouTube by presenting sponsor Maybelline NY.

Featuring 10 live streamed shows, 5 behind-the-scene vignettes and a host of on-demand content at youtube.com/fashionweeklive, this is the Canadian catwalk at its finest and open to all. Along with the live event coverage, fashion fans can view highlight clips, daily event recaps and Maybelline-produced backstage footage, including make-up tips from the pros.

Now in its second season, YouTube Fashion Week Live is the first ever week-long live stream presented from Canada. This chic destination launched Friday October 19th, with programming scheduled through Friday, October 26th, and available on-demand for the rest of the month.

So prepare to get glamorous and take a spot in the front row by visiting Fashion Week Live on YouTube.

It is small business week in Canada. And that’s kind of a big deal. Small businesses make up 98 percent of all companies in Canada. They are the backbone of the Canadian economy. But, when it comes to the Internet, many small Canadian business are leaving money on the table.Here are the facts: More than 80% of Canadians are online. About 1 in 5 Canadian searches on Google are seeking out local information, including nearby businesses and services. And small businesses and entrepreneurs who understand the enormous opportunity of going online report overall sales growth of up to 30% year over year. But, the reality is that many Canadian business have yet to harness this potential.So, to mark this important week, we’ve assembled some quick tips for businesses looking to grow their businesses online:

Take advantage of free offerings. For retailers with physical locations, find yourself on Google Maps, and claim your location. Consumers are increasingly searching while they are on the go so make sure they know when they are near your business!

Take a closer look at the pages visitors land on. Remember, YOU don't choose the landing page of your website. When people search, the engine finds the most relevant page on your site and THAT's the homepage. If you have 1000 pages on your website, you have 1000 homepages. You can see in analytics reports where people are landing most frequently, and which pages are failing to drive traffic.

Figure out what people really think. Online tools like Google Analytics can measure what engages consumers on your website and how they respond to special offers on your site. With unprecedented knowledge of behaviour and trends, advertisers and marketers can use web analytics data to optimise the path from search to sale, reach new audiences and improve on their spend.

Consider all the options. How do your customers interact with your brand and your store? Have you considered mobile advertising? Start with mobile search – the number one activity of smartphone owners. Smaller screen, bigger buttons -- look into customising your website for mobile.

There are plenty of other resources out there, but hope that’s a good start! We want to make sure the Internet is working for you, because Canada is ready to do business online.Posted by Wendy Bairos, Google Canada

Imagine if the leaders of 21 most powerful nations were run by whip smart, tech-savvy 18 to 20 year-old young women who want to change the world. Welcome to the G(irls)20 Summit.

Each year, 21 delegates are chosen to represent their countries at a mini G20 summit in advance of the G20 Leaders Summit. The agenda focuses on the economic empowerment of girls and women to address challenges in emerging and developed countries. The delegates then present a communique outlining their ideas to the real G20 Leaders and return home to put their ideas into action.

Women@Google has been globally involved in this initiative since the inception. Centrally coordinated by the Canadian team, we have hosted workshops for the delegates in Toronto, Paris & Mexico City, sharing ways to communicate their message by leveraging technology.

For Tanvi Giotra, this funding will support Project En Route - which connects girls in low-income classrooms in India with access to computers to connect them to the wider world. Or for Kartika Nurhayati in Indonesia, this will help support BookMob, a mobile public library that promotes the tools for literacy in underserved areas.

Former World Bank President, Robert Zoellick once said, "improved economic opportunities for women lead to better outcomes for families, societies and countries." Stay tuned for the next G(irls)20 Summit in Russia, in 2013.Posted by Sabrina Geremia, Integrated Solutions Sales Leader, Google Canada & Executive Sponsor of Women@Google Canada

As sure as the leaves change colour, fall is a time when a brief surge in NFL related searches on Google.ca are quickly eclipsed by the NHL as Canadians prepare for hockey’s season opener. But things are very different this year.We’re now 19 days into the NHL lockout and, with the start of the regular season looming, there is no deal in sight. Perhaps not surprising, searches for the NHL on Google were twice as common at this time last year.Meanwhile, the amazing debacle of replacement refs in the NFL turned into a ratings boon and a significant spike in NFL-related searches on Google. A tale of two leaguesIn the face of disruptive labour disputes only one pro sports league came out on top in terms of Google searches. Or, as The Globe and Mail puts it, the NHL lockout is making NFL fans out of Canadians.